OKLAHOMA CITY - Today, Attorney General John O’Connor and 11 Attorneys General sent a letter to United States Attorney General Merrick Garland opposing changes to the U.S. Department of Justice’s settlement process and requesting reinstatement of the rule forbidding third-party payouts.
“It appears General Garland has forgotten how DOJ’s previous abuses of the settlement process led to this rule banning payouts,” said Attorney General O’Connor. “There is a history of corruption in that process. I will continue to hold the Biden Administration accountable and will not allow the same mistakes to be repeated.”
Between 2009 and 2015, the Obama Administration engaged in a sue-and-settle scheme where big banks with potential liability during the housing crisis were given exemptions from fines if they sent money to liberal third-party groups. This effort steered billions of dollars away from the federal treasury and toward political allies of the Obama Administration, for example, the National Council of La Raza, a liberal nonprofit advocacy organization in favor of progressive public policy changes. One DOJ staffer even publicly admitted that the DOJ adjusted the criteria for permissible third-party recipients to ensure conservative groups would not qualify.
The letter states, “We are concerned that your rule change and your related memorandum will result in the Department of Justice (DOJ) improperly funneling public funds to third-party political allies without congressional authorization, in violation of the separation of powers inherent in the Constitution and in violation of the Miscellaneous Receipts Act.”
The attorneys general argue that the power to spend public money belongs to the people’s representatives in Congress and not to agencies like DOJ. Federal agencies must place any money they receive into the Treasury rather than using it for their own political purposes. The DOJ’s decision to reinstate the same settlement approach that the agency has previously abused under the Obama Administration will only lead to abuse again.
General O’Connor is joined by attorney generals from Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
